Crime Life Series Part 1: Success
by amabilis05
Summary: Ch. 7 now up! Grissom realizes things while bad things happen. Review please. I promise an even juicier ch. 8 and yes that's possible!
1. Beginnings

Title: Crime Life Series Part 1: Success

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: CSI and all its characters unfortunately belong to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. These stories are fictional, which is also unfortunate.

A/N: Yeah so this is my first ever fan-fic. I wrote it about 2 years ago and never really finished, so I'm re-posting it with a few changes. I'm starting out with a bang seeing as this is the first part to a 17 part series entitled "The Crime Life Series". Hopefully it will be liked and I won't end up feeling like the worst writer ever.

This was originally supposed to be set after season 3, but then I felt had to change stuff cause of season 4, so pretty much this is set somewhere mid-season 4. Basically it's what I want to happen on CSI (I guess that's alti-verse), with a few new characters thrown into the mix. Hopefully ya'll will like it, and I'll try to post a new chapter every week or 2 weeks depending on school and stuff. That's about it for today. Thanks to: Kelly, my coolest college friend, muse for this story, and my beta, lol. Also thanks to my various sources of inspiration. Thanks to CSI for being a great enough show for me to write about, and to the actors for being great at portraying their characters.

And now, on with the show!

Crime Life Series, Part 1: Success

CHAPTER 1

"Sara!" Grissom ran as fast as he could down the darkened hallway, thankful to the powers that be that his hearing had been restored in surgery. He heard a muffled groan and followed it to the left and found another passageway that only led to one room at the end. He sprinted down the hallway and slammed into the door, fumbling with the door handle. When he finally got it open, a task that seemed to take hours, he saw Sara huddled in the corner of the lightless, windowless room. Not knowing how badly she was injured, he went to her and picked her up in his arms, and carried her outside to the waiting paramedics. As the lights faded down the street, he was left alone in his Denali to think about what might happen to him if he had ended up being too late, in all ways of the meaning.

2 Days ago

Everyone was gathered in the break room. The air was filled with a festive tone, seeing as the Las Vegas CSI nightshift was celebrating a special occasion. DNA Lab Tech Greg Sanders had finally completed his training to be a full-fledged CSI. The other techs had, of course, insisted on a party so there was cake and decorations. Greg had even donned a party hat. Grissom sat on the couch, watching his crew. Warrick and Nick were playing video games with Archie and Bobby, Catherine was talking with Jackie, Hodges was even loosening up, probably glad to be rid of Greg's music. Sara sat at the table talking with Greg and sipping at her coffee. He loved to sit and watch her from afar and see her smile, even though it didn't have the same effect as if it were directed at him. Things between them had been tense these past few months. After she had asked him out, she had drawn into herself, immersing her mind in work. He had done nothing to help either, sending her to work with anyone but him. He feared now that his hearing complication was gone; his defenses against her would be lowered. He sighed and looked around the room, nodding to affirm to himself that everyone had finished their cake and that it was time to get back to work.

"Alright everyone, party time's over." A groan went throughout the room. "I know we all realize today is a special day for Greggo here," at this point he mussed up Greg's already messy hair, "however, the criminals just think it's another day for them to do what they want. Now go on, back to your respective tasks." Everyone threw out his or her garbage and left the room talking, and in a generally happy mood. Greg began to get up, but when everyone looked at him, he blushed and sat back down. "Reflex action guys. Not used to getting to stay for assignments yet." Everyone chuckled and turned their attention to Grissom.

"Alright, we've got 2 cases tonight. Domestic violence turned to murder-suicide that goes to Warrick, Catherine, and Greg. Greg you'll be helping to collect evidence, but as soon as you all come back here your first priority is the stuff in your lab. Your replacement won't be here until next Monday, and your paperwork has to be processed before you can officially get your new ID." He handed the paper to Cat and the three of them left to go do some work. "Nick, Sara, you guys are with me. We've got 2 places to be tonight. A missing person turned up at Desert Palm, said she was drugged, kidnapped, raped, and left for dead in the desert. Police went to the area where she said he dumped her and found another body, a missing person. The two were kidnapped 2 weeks apart, so it's most likely the same person. Now who wants to go to the hospital to get the rape kit and then to Doc. Robbins for autopsy?"

"I'll go," Nick volunteered. He knew Sara had a sore spot for rape victims and didn't want her being sucked into the case.

"Ok then. Sara, whose car do you want to take?" He looked at her blankly, trying not to let his hope that she'd share a car shine through.

"How about I take my car and you take yours. That way if any emergencies or something important happens you can get back to the lab and I can stay and collect evidence." She betrayed her feelings of wanting to share a car with him, but tonight she just didn't want the awkward silence or a fight.

"Ok then. Let's go." They all got up and left, going to their respective vehicles. Nick turned right out of the parking lot and headed to the center of town, and Sara followed Grissom as they drove away from civilization.


	2. Dark

Title: Crime Life Series Part 1: Success

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: CSI and all its characters unfortunately belong to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. These stories are fictional, which is also unfortunate.

A/N: Hey guys and gals, this chapter's a bit early in posting. I hope there are people actually reading this! Just a quick note: anything that might be interpreted as a fact, please disregard unless you research and it turns out to be true. I'm not an entomologist, and I'm only just starting college so I have no idea about this stuff. Also, feel free to e-mail me and tell me if I'm wrong so I can fix it! Thanks to: Everyone who reviewed (and who didn't but still read it) and Microsoft Word for correcting my spelling errors.

CHAPTER 2

Cath, Warrick, and Greg arrived at the scene in 2 cars. As they walked up to the large house, Greg commented, "Wow! Nice pad. I'd never be able to get a place like this."

"I think that's a good thing," said Catherine. At Greg's look she added, "For the house. I'd hate to see what you'd do to it! Purple walls, lime green furniture, orange shag carpets!" They shared a short laugh as they continued up the pathway, ducking under the crime scene tape and approaching Captain Brass.

"Hey Greggo. Congratulations on the promotion. Sorry I couldn't make the party. Anyways, we've got what looks like a murder-suicide. The maid found wife in the living room. She called us, we found the husband. He's upstairs. Apparently after killing his wife, he went up to his study, got himself drunk, and shot himself using the gun he kept hidden in his desk drawer. Coroner's already pronounced, they're waiting for you guys to finish so they can take the bodies. I'll leave this to you guys, I've got a meeting with the mayor." He walked away to his car; leaving the 3 CSI's to get to work.

"Alright then, Warrick, why don't you start with the wife, I'll go upstairs with Greg and process the study." Catherine looked at the two men and got a nod from each, then she turned and led the way into the dark house.

Grissom got to the scene about 5 min. before Sara, so when she arrived he was already deep in thought. _Why do I have to be in the dark about him all the time? Last week he didn't even want me at the vic's house. Now he wants me in the middle of nowhere with him._

"Hey Grissom. What'd you find?"

"Nothing. No bugs at all."

"Sucks for you."

"Actually it helps. Since there are no bugs, we know the desert mummified her. And also from the fact that she has barely begun to decompose."

"She's been here less than 6 weeks. Hasn't rained in that time. That would allow for her to stay preserved this long."

"Precisely. You check the surrounding area for footprints that might not have been compromised by our living vic, and I'll check the body for evidence of our rapist and killer."

Nick walked into the hospital and found a nurse, who helped him to find the victim's room and her nurse. After speaking with the nurse and securing the rape kit she gave him in his case, he went in to speak with the victim, Whitney Collins. He heard the nurse explaining that he was there to talk to her to help find the rapist. As he stepped into the room he moved to the chair farthest away from the vic.

"Hello Whitney. My name is Nick Stokes. I'm here to ask you about your kidnapping so we can get any information possible to put him away." He looked over the tiny blonde woman in a non-threatening manner. "We know that he drugged you, kidnapped you, raped you, and then dropped you off in the desert. Can you give me any details like where you were when you were drugged, if you remember anything about where you were when you woke up?"

"Well, I was at a going-away party for my friend. Her name is Chelsea Matheson. We had invited all of her old friends and guys that she had dated and was still friendly with. She called over a few that we didn't know once she realized she was getting a party. They came over, and one of the guys took over my job of managing the bar. He made me a drink before I went off to mingle though. First and last I had all night. I think it was how he drugged me. Anyway after that the party started to dwindle down and a few of us decided to stay over to help Chelsea move in the morning. I went to bed in one of her guest rooms, and the guy I mentioned before stayed over too. When I woke up I wasn't in the guest room anymore. I was tied to a dirty old bed and he was watching me. I realized then I was naked. He. He… oh god he raped me." Nick said nothing and gave Whitney a moment to regain her composure. "After that he left. I listened and all I heard was the fading of his footsteps outside the door. I don't know what that means but otherwise I don't remember much. There were no windows in the room. The only light was from the hallway that shone through under the door. It was like that for, I don't even know how long. He fed me, made me do things that I didn't want to do. I think he kept drugging me or something. One day I just blacked out. I woke up in the desert next to that other girl. I was so scared. I just started running. I was lucky to pick the right way. As soon as I found someone I started screaming for help. They brought me here. Please help me. I want to know this guy won't be able to hurt anyone else."

This horrifying story was almost too much for Nick to handle. He was glad he hadn't let Sara come here. "I promise we'll do all we can to put this guy away. He won't be able to hurt you anymore." With that he left the room to leave Whitney to her recovery.

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	3. Discovery

Title: Crime Life Series Part 1: Success

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: CSI and all its characters unfortunately belong to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. These stories are fictional, which is also unfortunate.

A/N: Thanks to all who read and those who reviewed. Here's another chapter for being such good fans lol. If there's any information in here that you know is not correct, feel free to send me the correct facts and I will fix it. Italics are inner thoughts by the way.

CHAPTER 3

"Hey Gris? Could you come over here for a second?"

"Sure." Grissom stood up and inwardly groaned at the stiffness in his knees. _How could she ever like an old man like me? First my hearing, now my knees. Pretty soon I'll be retired and giving out butterscotch candy to my nephews._ "What did you find?" He focused the beam of his flashlight on the area Sara was circling.

"Actually it's what I didn't find that's so interesting." She made her way to stand next to him. _Maybe if I just act like we still work well together eventually it will go back to being unforced._ "There's no footprints or tire tracks aside from ours and those of the girl at the hospital. The bodies are too far to have been dumped from the road." She pointed her flashlight towards an area with slight drag marks leading towards the road. "And I can't figure out what these tracks are from."

Grissom had already been forming an idea. "Rape and kidnapping are about control right?" With a nod from Sara he continued. "Maybe he feels that he's a great controller, he needed a 'red carpet' so to speak." He watched Sara out of the corner of his eye as her excitement grew as she figured it out.

"He must have spread out a tarp. Folded once or twice, it's the right length. It would keep footprints from being made, evidence from falling on the ground. Take it home and wash it there's no way to connect him to the crime." She was both joyful and dismayed by this news. "That means he has knowledge about how we work, what we look for."

"Yes," replied Grissom with a nod and a smirk. "But we know what to look for when we find him. We still have to wait for David to check on and under the body." They smiled at each other, falling into the ease they once had, with reluctance, but falling again nonetheless.

Warrick started processing the living room by doing overall pictures. The room was 14 x 16, with three doorways. The first connected to the hallway, the second to the kitchen, and the third to the backyard, but that was locked inside and out because of construction to fix the pool and build a deck. The furnishings included a fireplace, 2 couches with end tables, a minibar, and a rug. On the rug was where the wife was lying in a circle of glass, blood, and wine.

"According to the details Brass left, the maid always leaves after she serves dinner because the Donald's like to wash dishes together. Tradition in both families or something. She said she knew they sometimes liked to also have a drink after dinner, but the wife never drank anything except wine. She came in this morning and went through the living room because of the construction. Found the wife, called the police." Catherine replayed the details to Greg whilst checking the neat and orderly room for signs of struggle. Greg was finger printing the gun.

"So what you're saying is, depending on what Warrick finds downstairs, the murder-suicide theory could work out." Greg got a little bit distracted by talking and accidentally spilled some powder on the paper that the gun had been on. He blew it off, and then realized that it was the only paper on the desk not in a tray or folder. Curiosity got the best of him, and he quickly scanned the paper, eyes getting wider as he registered the words. "Cat, you might want to bag this." He handed her the paper and she read it too, smiling at him.

"Why is it you always seem to find the case-breaking material?"

Nick returned to the lab to drop off the rape kit and head to autopsy. He didn't realize Greg wasn't back at the lab yet, and walked into DNA with his concentration on a file. "Hey Greg, could you run this kit for me? I need it ASAP . . . " As he looked up he realized that Greg wasn't back yet, and the person in Greg's chair was definitely not Greg.

Review please and thank you and maybe you'll be rewarded with a new chapter early!


	4. Mistaken

Title: Crime Life Series Part 1: Success

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: CSI and all its characters unfortunately belong to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. These stories are fictional, which is also unfortunate.

A/N: OK so, longer chapters, from now on cause I feel like it. YEAH! Anyway, here it is, chapter 4! (Please see end of ch. 3 if you are confused about the beginning)

CHAPTER 4

"Sorry to disappoint you, but my name's not Greg."

Nick was stunned by the young woman sitting in Greg's chair. She did not look older than early 20's, and was petite. She was wearing a baby blue, button down shirt and a pair of dark-blue jeans under her lab coat. Her not-quite chin length, brown hair was flared out at the ends giving her a spunky look. She wore little makeup, and was now looking at him with an amused smile.

"My name's Aimée Ferrebee. I'm the new lab tech. I was supposed to start next week but the moving company messed up and moved me here a week early, so here I am. The Lab Director was at the front desk when I arrived so he said to start work, just to make sure I notified Dr. Grissom. Do you know when he'll be getting back?" Nick was astounded that there was actually a new person on the nightshift. Grissom had only mentioned a replacement for Greg in passing, but it had never occurred to Nick that it would happen so soon. She seemed very conservative, nothing at all like Greg. After realizing she was still waiting for an answer he brought himself back to the present.

"Um, no I'm not sure. He's out at a scene with another CSI, Sara Sidle. I'm sure you'll meet her eventually. I'm Nick Stokes, by the way." He held out his hand, but she didn't shake it. It was then he realized she was wearing gloves.

"Well, as I said before I'm Aimée. I'd shake, but day shift's tech isn't that fast, so I have to do this backlog work. Leave your kit on the table over there. I'll page you when I've finished." He set down the kit where she indicated and left the room to go over to autopsy.

About an hour later Catherine and Greg had finished processing upstairs, and they decided to go downstairs to see if Warrick was ready to go as well. They found him kneeling on the floor next to the body of Mrs. Donald. He looked up when he felt their stares on him. "Hey guys. Find anything interesting upstairs?" At this Cath and Greg exchanged small smiles.

"I didn't, but Greggo here did. We've got motive for both deaths on paper. This paper has 2 e-mails on it. First one says that someone thinks the wife is cheating on him. It was sent about a week ago. The newest one, from today, says that the messenger was wrong, she wasn't cheating on him. I'm thinking he left this for someone to find and know why he did what he did."

"That's awesome Greg! Now you can help me with this. I've got a weird set of wounds." He pointed toward the upper body. "She's got a wound near the back of her head with glass embedded in it. It's thick, like a tumbler or shot glass. She's got another wound on her throat, though, that doesn't make sense. It's circular, almost like an imprint from a gun barrel." He looked up at the others to see if they had any ideas. Greg was the one who spoke up.

"Well, the husband shot himself after he supposedly killed his wife right? Maybe he had a few too many drinks, decided he's going to kill his wife because she's cheating on him. He gets his gun, puts it to her throat. He looks at her, about to shoot, and decides that he loves her anyway, even though she's cheating on him. Maybe someone else then came up behind her and bashed her on the head, then shot him up in the office." Cat and Warrick just looked at Greg, stunned. "Hey," he smiled. "I may only be a rookie, but no one said I wasn't good at imagining."

After waiting for a bit, David had finally shown up. Sara and Griss checked around and under the body for evidence, finding nothing except more sand. After driving back to the lab, they split up. Sara headed to autopsy to find Nick, and Grissom headed to the DNA lab since he had received a page from there earlier. Looking at files, he walked into the lab and said "Greg I'm surprised. No music and you sent me a normal page for onc….."

"That would be because I'm not Greg," a female voice replied. He looked up and saw exactly whom Nick had seen before, although he did not visibly show his surprise. "I'm Aimee Ferrebee, the new DNA Lab Tech. I know I'm here a week early but there was a mistake with the moving company." Grissom took this information and almost immediately came up with a solution.

"It's quite alright, Ms. Lexington."

"Would you mind calling me Aimée?"

"Of course not. Well, since you're here now, it will greatly help our old DNA tech during his transition period. He was recently promoted to a CSI level 2. I'll call a meeting so you can meet the rest of the nightshift team, and I'll make sure Greg helps you find everything you need. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Actually, yes. I know that I may be coming off as a bit formal tonight, it being my first shift and all, but do you think it would be alright if I played a bit of music while I worked? Possibly 'Black Flag' if I kept it to a medium volume?"

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	5. Falling and Finding

Title: Crime Life Series Part 1: Success

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: CSI and all its characters unfortunately belong to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. These stories are fictional, which is also unfortunate.

A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed. Sorry for the lack of ice cream sundaes, but the website I use no longer works. Grrr. FYI: the new DNA Tech's Name is pronounced Ah-may Fair-uh-bee. LOL weird I know. Anyways, thanks to Kelly and Amira this story, no the whole series is going to be fantasmagorically awesome. And now, CHAPTER 5!

CHAPTER 5

After finishing up at the Donald's house, Cat, Warrick, and Greg went outside to return to the lab. Right before they got into their cars, Cat got a call on her cell from Grissom. "Hey, Griss. What's up?"

"I need you, Greg, and Warrick to get back to the lab as soon as possible. We're having a meeting in the break room. Very important business."

"OK we were just about to leave. We should be back in about 10 minutes. Give us 15 so we can drop off evidence?"

"Sure. See you in 15 minutes then."

Catherine hung up her phone and called to the guys across the street. "Meeting in the break room in 15 min. Try to get your stuff dropped off and be there on time."

"Will do Cat. What's the meeting about?"

"Who knows? Grissom's calling it so it's probably about seminars coming up. That or he's going to ask us for help with paperwork."

15 minutes later Grissom stood in front of the nightshift team, minus Greg. "Does anybody know where Greg is?"

Warrick spoke up. "Actually, I think he was talking to Archie about something. Probably bragging about the case." They all knew Greg was proud to have been promoted, but that he would miss talking to his friends in the lab.

At that moment a movement near the doorway caught everyone's attention. "Well then we'll just have to start without him. Everyone, this is our new DNA lab tech, Aimée Ferrebee. She will be taking over for Greg full-time at the beginning of next week." As she opened her mouth to speak to the team, Greg ran into the room at full force and stumbled. The noise caught Aimée's attention and she turned, but Greg lost his balance and fell, knocking her over in the process. She fell backwards, stopping herself with her hands. Greg fell on top of her, stopping from falling on her completely by putting his arms out. He looked down into her eyes, and she looked up into his. It felt like they were the only two in the room.

"Hello," said Greg.

"Hi," she replied softly. "Um, would you mind getting off of me now?" They began to blush as the realized the position they were in; Greg effectively had her pinned to the floor.

"Sure. Sorry about that. I was in a hurry, didn't want to be late for the meeting." As he got up, Greg inwardly felt that he didn't really want to. He pulled her up and was delighted at the contact of her hand in his. He sat down in an empty chair and asked, "So what is this meeting all about?"

Grissom sighed and rolled his eyes. "As I was saying, the young woman you just ran over is going to be our new DNA lab tech. For this week, you and her will be working together in the lab unless you are working on your case. Help her find where everything is, answer any questions."

"I actually have a question," Greg said as he raised his hand a bit. He turned to the new face and asked, "What's your name? I came in a bit too late for the formal introduction."

"My name's Aimée Ferrebee." She stuck out her hand and gave him a firm, playful handshake. "I think we better get started ASAP. I can't find the supply cabinet for my life. So far I've only found someone's hidden supply of."

At that point Greg interrupted her "OK let's go get started." He knew what she had found, and he really did not want the rest of the team to know where he kept it.

As they rushed out the door, Grissom yelled after him "Greg!"

"Yes boss?"

"Give her that list you've been keeping of which music you're allowed to play. I have a feeling she may need it." Greg's face went ashen; he had been keeping that list in secret. Not knowing what to say, Greg decided it would be best to run off to the lab.

"Ok everyone, back to work. Sara, Nick, I want you both in my office to go over the details of our case. Catherine, Warrick, you guys are off to autopsy. Your vics have finally arrived. Traffic on the strip I think." Everyone left to do his or her respective tasks.

"Ok so according to our live vic, the guy picked her up at a party for her friend. She slept over, woke up somewhere else, she suspects she was drugged. One day, she woke up in the middle of the desert next to our dead vic. Any ID on her yet?" Nick, Sara, and Griss had gathered in his office about 5 minutes later. Grissom was going over Whitney Collins' story from Nick's paperwork.

"Nothing from Jacqui yet. She's going to page me when she gets something. I dropped the rape kit off at autopsy, and Doc said he'd send the other one over as soon as he could."

"So evidence-wise, there's nothing left to do until Aimée's done."

"Speaking of me." No one had noticed her arrival at the doorway, not even Grissom. "I have the results to both kits right here. Both girls had large amounts of Rohypnol in their system. It's a date-rape drug. Ingested in large enough doses it can be lethal. DNA tests on your unknown vic came up as a Jolene Stubb. Prior offense for indecent exposure and resistance to arrest. Your basic party girl. I ran the semen from both vics through CODIS and it came up with a Chad Cialis. I took the liberty to call Detective Brass, and after a meeting he will be meeting one of you three at this guys house to bring him in for interrogation. I'll leave it up to you to decide who goes." She placed the papers on the desk and turned to leave. At the door, she turned around. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This Chad guy is HIV positive, so be careful." She then went out the door and went down the hallway, back into the DNA lab.

"Alright then. I guess two of us will stay here and process the vic's clothing, and the other can go meet Brass. I personally am going to stay here and keep an eye on Greggo and Aimee." Sara and Nick looked at each other, eyes battling for who would speak first. Nick won.

"I think I'll go with Brass, since you two got to stay out in the field longer." He knew it was a bullshit reason, but he also knew how Sara got on these cases.

"Actually Nick I think I'd rather go out on this one. I don't want to be around if Griss has to start yelling." _I just don't want to be cooped up in here with Grissom. We'd get too close if we both went over the clothing._ Unfortunately, Nick thought she wanted to make a personal vendetta against their suspect.

"Sara, I insist on going. Besides, you wouldn't want to get angry like you sometimes do and scare him into doing something stupid. I don't want you to run yourself ragged by making it personal." Nick realized after he said it, while watching Sara grow angry, that he should have just kept his mouth shut.

"Excuse me? How can I not make it personal? Some guy is out there terrorizing and drugging women, and I'm supposed to just sit here without feeling? Well I'm sorry then, but at least give me a chance to prove you wrong!" Before Nick or Grissom could stop her, she had grabbed the information sheet and stormed out. Nick sank back into his chair, mortified at what he had done.

"Don't worry about it, Nick" Grissom tried to console him. 'Just next time, think before you speak. Come on, let's go start looking over those clothes." He clapped a hand on Nick's shoulder in encouragement and the two men left to go to the layout room.

Greg and Aimée saw Sara stalk past through the window. They had heard her shouting at someone. "Oh great here we go again. Expect Grissom to be very angry for the rest of the night. It was probably him that set her off."

"Are they always like that? I got a little vibe between them in the break room." She sipped some of her coffee that she had gotten on her way back from Grissom's office.

"Trust me, unless someone steals Grissom's bugs and brains so he can't focus on anything else, he'll probably never get the courage to tell her how he feels. And even if they did start going out, they'd probably keep it totally secret." Greg followed Aimée's action and took a sip of his own that she had brought him on a second thought.

At the mention of a secret it brought Aimée's mind to what she had found earlier. "By the way, how come you rushed me out of the room before? Obviously it's because you didn't want me to say what I found, but why wouldn't you want them to know where you keep your coffee? It's pretty freaking good."

Greg smiled at her naiveté. "And that, my dear, is why. Around here my coffee has become my legacy. That and my music, but you seem to have the same passion for it so it won't be as big of a deal anymore. If they don't know where it is, they'll still need me for it. I'm entrusting you with the location so that I may still hold my power over those caffeine-addicted many around this place."

She just rolled her eyes at him and smiled, glad that it seemed she had made a friend here. "Yeah well if they really wanted to find it they could just search the whole lab, so don't over estimate your power. The coffee doesn't matter to me that much anyway."

"And pray tell why not?" He raised the cup to his lips to take a drink from his 'powerful' brew.

"I think mostly everyone might be a bit more interested where you keep your porn." Greg spit out his coffee and stared at her wide-eyed, and she laughed and turned up the radio and got back to work.

Warrick and Catherine walked into autopsy and found Doc Robbins already examining their victims. "Hey guys. Come over here and see these wounds on Mrs. Donald. They're very interesting."

"I noticed that too. Greg said that he thinks that the husband was going to kill his wife, causing the gun print bruise on her neck, but then he couldn't go through with it. He figures someone else hit the wife with a glass, and forced the husband to kill himself upstairs." Doc smiled at Greg's imaginative, but possible, idea.

"Well, depending on the other evidence he may be right. Once I find cause of death you'll probably be able to figure it out."

Catherine had been quiet since they had started talking, deep in thought. "Warrick, did you bring back the glass on the floor from the house?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm thinking there might be blood on the glass from whoever hit her." At that moment, their beepers went off simultaneously.

Grissom and Nick were working on their vics clothing. So far all they had found was sand from the desert. They were just about to start using the ALS when Grissom's cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Grissom, it's Brass. Which one of you three is coming out here to inspect this guy's house? We're ready to go knock on the door but none of your people are here yet."

Gil looked at the clock. Sara had left about 45 minutes ago. "Sara decided she wanted to go, but she left awhile ago. She should be there by now." He was beginning to get a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. "Sara might have gone in without you guys. Nick said something to upset her before she left. Do you see her car anywhere?" Nick heard this and looked at him questioningly.

At the house, Brass looked around and noticed it parked further down the road. "Grissom, there's no need to worry yet. She's probably inside having coffee waiting for us. Let us go in and I'll call you when I have the details, OK?"

"Fine." Grissom hung up his phone and looked at Nick.

"What's the problem boss?"

"Sara may be missing."

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	6. Fear

Title: Crime Life Series Part 1: Success

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: CSI and all its characters unfortunately belong to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. These stories are fictional, which is also unfortunate.

A/N: Sidle Chick, thanks for reviewing, check your e-mail for a yummy treat! Anyways, here's Chapter 6. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 6

While in autopsy, Catherine and Warrick had both gotten pages, Cat's was from Jacqui about fingerprints, and Warrick's was to DNA. They went their separate ways back at the lab.

Warrick walked into the DNA lab finding Aimée working by herself. "Hey new girl! Why are you in here by yourself? Isn't Greg supposed to be helping you?"

She looked up from the table and smiled at the thought of where Greg was. "He is helping, but at the moment he's trying to clean his shirt. He, uh, spilled a bit of coffee on it. I've got some info for you on your case. There were two blood donors on the glass found near Mrs. Donald; hers, naturally, and Mr. Donald's as well. Greg told me his theory, but I guess this proves it wrong." She handed him the papers he'd need for the case file at the end of her recitation of the evidence. "Also, there were two different blood donors on the carpet, again Mr. and Mrs. Donald."

"Hey thanks Aimée. The rest of us are going out for breakfast after shift, providing we don't have to pull a double. You up to go out?" Neither of them had noticed Greg listening to the last bit out in the hall. _Warrick's asking her out on a date? Just say no, Aimée. Please say no!  
_  
"I'd love to Warrick. Keep me posted on the details." _Damn._ Greg walked into the break room across the hall to get some more coffee to replace what he'd spilled.

Warrick turned to leave, but asked over his shoulder, "You'll probably see him first, so tell Greg he's invited too, okay?"

"Will do." Aimée returned to her work, wondering what was taking Greg so long.

Meanwhile, Catherine was getting some very interesting evidence from Jacqui. "You're sure about this?" Cat could not believe the way the fingerprints had turned out.

"Sure am. The only prints at your crime scene were Mr. and Mrs. Donald's, and the maid. Either the killer was very clean, or they were in-house."

"Ok. Thanks Jacqui" Catherine turned and walked out of the lab to go and find Warrick.

Despite the worry that Sara might be in trouble, Grissom and Nick had worked on the clothes a bit more, going over it with ALS. After finding some semen stains, they had sent the evidence to Aimée in the lab. Nick had gotten a page from Jacqui, confirming the dead woman as Jolene Stubb. With all available evidence turned in, there was nothing left for them to do but wait for a page from a lab tech, or, hopefully not, a call from Brass.

Greg walked back into the DNA lab to find Aimée working while singing to Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why" on the radio. He half smiled at the sight; she had a pretty voice. She looked up at him and smiled, then noticed Greg didn't look so good.

"What's the matter Greg? Was that one of your favorite shirts or something?"

Greg sat down and stared into his coffee cup. "No, it's just, well, I heard Warrick ask you on a date. I was hoping you'd say no, or at least that I'd get to be the first to ask you." He looked at her and was surprised to find her looking at him with an amused smile.

With a small chuckle, she replied, "Greg, if you keep finding out things this way, you're never going to be a Level 3 CSI."

"What do you mean?" He was confused. Hadn't Warrick asked her out to breakfast?

"Greg he invited me to breakfast with the rest of the nightshift. You're invited too. You must have been too busy eavesdropping to hear that. Besides, Warrick's not my type anyway."

Greg looked at her hopefully. "What is your type then?"

She smirked at him. "We'll have to discuss that over breakfast sometime. Now come on, Grissom and Nick just gave me a bunch of stuff to work on."

Cath eventually found Warrick pondering over the details of the case in one of the many labs. "Hey Warrick, what's up?"

"Not much, Cat. I'm just trying to figure out how these people died. There was blood on the glass and the floor from both Mr. and Mrs. Donald."

"Jacqui said that there were no out-of-place fingerprints. Someone had to kill someone inside that house."

"The way I see it, Greg wasn't too far off with his theory. The husband gets word his wife's sleeping around. Confronts her one night after dinner, puts his gun to her throat. Decides he doesn't want to kill her for whatever reason, maybe instead he decides to just push her with the gun to get the message across. I think before he pulled the gun, he must've dropped his glass. That explains the alcohol on the floor. She falls and cracks her head on the glass, knocks her out and she starts bleeding. He checks on her, sees the blood and that she's passed out, and thinks she's dead. So he goes up into his study to think about what to do, then gets the e-mail that she wasn't cheating. He gets so remorseful he shoots himself. Plain old accident and grief is my theory."

"I like where you're going with that. All the evidence supports it. Let's close this baby." Catherine and Warrick then began to finish the paperwork.

Grissom went in to check on the DNA results, and found Greg and Aimée spinning around the room in their chairs, rocking out to the radio, at the moment playing Sugarcult's "Bouncing Off The Walls". Grissom turned down the radio, and asked, "I'm assuming that this means you're done with my evidence?"

Greg felt a bit sick so he rested his head on the table while he got his bearings, so a breathless Aimée, who also happened to be closest to the printer, replied, "You bet. Maybe you should keep Greggo here as a half-and- half. We get things done much faster with both of us working on it." _I really just want to keep him in here with me. It gets lonely in the lab._

"That's quite alright. The both of you together means double the trouble, for me anyway."

"Ok. Well the semen you and Nick found matches your suspect. With evidence like this, you guys are definitely going to get him." She nodded firmly; glad to do her part to catch someone this evil.

"Thank you Aimée." He was about to continue, when his cell phone rang. The tone gave him a worried feeling, and as he answered, his worries were confirmed. "Got it Brass. We'll all be there ASAP."

Greg looked up and saw Grissom's pale face. "What's wrong, boss?"

Grissom looked Greg in the eye, and Greg saw the pain and fear hidden in the depths of blue. "It seems that our suspect really is our killer. And he's taken Sara."

DUN DUN DUNNN!

PLEASE REVIEW! I will still send ice cream, and yeah.


	7. Realizations

Title: Crime Life Series Part 1: Success

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: CSI and all its characters unfortunately belong to CBS and Alliance-Atlantis Productions. These stories are fictional, which is also unfortunate.

A/N: Hope the reviewers enjoyed their ice cream. Mucho thanks to KELLY! LOL. I wouldn't be able to write this story w/o you helping me work out the stuff I already know in my mind. Everyone ready to find out where the teaser from Ch. 1 happens? Well you're going to have to wait until Ch. 8! I know I'm so evil. Muahahahaha. CHAPTER 7!

CHAPTER 7

After telling everyone else what had happened, either in person or via cell phone, it was decided that Greg and Nick would go with Grissom to Chad Cialis' house. Warrick and Cath still had paperwork to finish; otherwise they would have gone as well. When they arrived, Brass made sure to give them all the details he could. "We got here and waited for Sara, but she never showed, so I called you, Gil. After you told us she was already here, I looked and saw her car parked down there." He pointed out the car to the CSI's. "Then we went over to the house to see if she was there. The door wasn't locked, so we went in. His car isn't here, and neither is he, so we think he may be out on the town somewhere. That or . . ." He didn't want to say what he was thinking, that Sara might be dead. Or worse.

"Thanks Jim. Hopefully there won't be an or." Jim walked off to go talk to his officers. "Okay guys, here's the game plan. Nick, you go look in the house for signs of a struggle. Be sure to check closets and stuff first, with an officer. We don't need you getting a gun pulled on you again." Nick nodded with a wry smile and headed off towards the house. "Greg, you and me are going to look around her car."

As the three of them moved to step off the curb to cross the street, a car sped by, pulling into the driveway where Chad Cialis lived. A man, matching Chad's picture from CODIS stepped out. He walked over to a policeman, demanding answers. The officer asked the man to calm down while he got Detective Brass. The man did not listen. Instead, he shoved the cop, and then punched him across the face.

A mass of officers grabbed the man and arrested him. Brass yelled to Grissom, "This appears to be Mr. Cialis. We'll be arresting him for assault of an officer. It should hold him until you find more evidence for everything else."

"Okay. Nicky, go with Brass, print Mr. Cialis and search him for evidence. Call Catherine and Warrick and tell them to come search the house."

"Got it boss." He ran over to Brass' car and jumped in before he left without him.

Greg and Grissom proceeded to cross the street and head towards Sara's car. Grissom went straight to the driver's side, so Greg went around to the passenger side. He tripped a bit, causing his flashlight to swerve and reflect off something shiny. As he bent over to pick it up, he realized what it was, and whom it belonged to.

"Uh, Grissom. I think I just found evidence of a struggle here." Grissom hurried around the car, and also noticed the necklace on the ground. A necklace with the figure of St. Catherine on it. "Didn't Sara get this from a victim a few years back?"

Grissom almost couldn't speak; he had hoped it wasn't true. "Yes she did." He regained his composure and added, "bag it, there may be DNA. Now come on let's finish processing the car." Aside from a slight spot of blood on the outside of the passenger side window, nothing on or in the car was incriminating towards Chad attacking her. Perhaps there would be more evidence inside.

But there wasn't. They only found long brown hair, and they knew that was Sara's. From an evidence point, Sara had just disappeared. A saddened, remorseful Greg and Gil walked back to the car and drove back to the lab, hoping Nick had found something probative.

As soon as Gil arrived, he retreated straight to his office. He sat down in his chair and sighed. As he sat, his mind drifted to Sara and where she might be. _She can't have just wandered off. She wouldn't do that, even in the state of anger she was in. But that leaves no other solution except that she got kidnapped. Not maybe by Chad, but by someone_. And he definitely didn't want that to happen. If she was taken and something happened to her, something horrible. He wouldn't know what to do. _God damn it but I love that woman. Wait. Love?_ At that thought, Grissom sat up straight, a bit perplexed that he finally knew what to do. It was good he had jumped though, for Nick had barged in at that same moment.  
"Sorry, boss, didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to come let you know the results of DNA and stuff. Turns out Chad is really Brian."  
"What?"  
"Yeah. Chad Cialis is really Brian Cullen. He changed his name a few years back, bad divorce or something. Decided to change his name and start over. He was printed before the change, and was put in CODIS afterwards for his HIV. We got two different names for one guy. The good news, though, is that there's an address for his old name. Still owned by Brian, not even up for sale."  
Grissom was amazed. "How far away from the dump site is the house?"  
Nick had already checked. "About 50 miles. Not too far since he's on the edge of town. Pretty much in the desert anyway. There's something else. The truck he was driving when he went home. I had the towing company bring it in. There was a tarp in the back, lovely boot prints on it. As well as a blood spot or two. Aimée should be finished with those soon. She's even faster than Greg at that stuff."  
"Nice work, Nicky." Grissom stood up and grabbed his kit, his energy renewed at the prospect of a place to search for Sara. "You stay here until its time for interrogation." Grissom walked out the door to go get Greg and go search Brian/Chad's house.

Night had fallen on Vegas again. "Are you sure this is okay, Grissom?" Greg was a bit nervous at going into the house without a warrant specifically for it. "Yes, it's perfectly fine, Greg. We had a warrant to search his house. Since it appears he owns two, we can search both." Grissom walked up and tried the door. It was unlocked. "Well, the house is pretty far away from everything else. The backyard goes right into the desert. Guess he wasn't worried about people coming in." By now they had entered into the cool, dark interior. "Or anyone getting out," whispered Greg as he set down his case.

After getting a call from Nick, Catherine and Warrick had gone to Chad's house to process it. They had finished with all but one room, finding nothing out of the ordinary. That was until they walked into the bedroom. "Holy crap," Warrick exclaimed softly. "This place is a freaking. . . I don't know what." The room was painted all black, with splashes of red strewn about as 'decoration'. There was a bed, a dresser drawer, and under the window was a table with pictures of various women on them. And not just ordinary pictures either. Pictures of girls unconscious, tied up, stripped of clothing. The second most incriminating evidence anyone had found so far. There were only two girls though. Jolene and Whitney. Sara's weren't there yet, and hopefully they never would be. Turning away from the pictures, Warrick called Grissom and confirmed that Brian/Chad was their man. At least for the two rapes.

Please and thank you REVIEW! HeeHeeHee. I promise the teaser will be in the next chapter. And that it will be soon.


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